choosing a hotair station

[metebalci]

I am considering to try a hotair station for soldering (I havent used any before), for working on prototypes, low component count, small boards, 2-4 layers, not too small SMDs (I usually work with 1206, 0805 passives and 0.65-0.5mm pitch ICs, usually soic and tssop). Is it worth to try and use one ? and to what specs I should pay attention ? I see usually air flow is 100l/min but there are units with lower numbers too. I prefer a well known brand.

[TomS_]

I have an Atten ST-862D and have been very happy with it.

As far as air flow goes, it ranges from "gentle summer breeze" to "blow your components off the board to the other side of the room". What that equates to in l/min I don't know, but it seems plenty.

I believe it's quite a popular model, others might share their experiences.

[mon2]

The tool we use and recommend is the BEST TOOL BST-863. See attached. This vendor is always at the trade fairs in HK and have met them numerous times. Aside from the issues with covid - they plan to attend future shows. They have confirmed to us that they can sell us spare parts if needed to repair this tool in the future. Affordable as well. We use it often to repair assorted Apple products with heavy ground plane.

On this note, we did recently meet our match from Asus where the 8 pin SOIC flash device would not budge even with the full 550C setting. While the PCB was replaced due to the urgent needs of the customer, we brought in an underside pre-heater from HAKKO. Such a device is also recommended to get to the really heavy multilayer PCBs.

[TomS_]

The tool we use and recommend is the BEST TOOL BST-863. See attached.

I wonder if this is based on the Quick 861 & Co. The bottom half of the front panel looks almost identical, as does the ridge along the top of the case.

[thm_w]

I wonder if this is based on the Quick 861 & Co. The bottom half of the front panel looks almost identical, as does the ridge along the top of the case.

It is a copy, same as the Atten.
If OP wants a well known brand, then just pay the ~$300 for the Quick 861.
But they haven't even bothered to provide a budget, so who knows.

[metebalci]

I am using a Weller WX1, so I actually had in my mind such brands, and budget around $500 is fine but I dont think I have enough knowledge to set a budget yet.

I would like to understand better the pros and cons of using hot-air for my use case. I am still not convinced to its benefits (not sure if I can be convinced without trying it, that is another issue). Sometimes I hear people saying it makes some things much easier (TQFP etc.), sometimes I get the feeling it is too complicated, pre-heater might also be needed, maybe works better but with only stencil etc. I should say I almost never desolder things.


 

[MarkF]

Any thoughts on the Quick 957DW+ Rework Station ?  Available at tEquipment for $95 USD.

Much less power but seems to be able to do the job for hobbyist according to some YouTube.

   

[thm_w]

I am using a Weller WX1, so I actually had in my mind such brands, and budget around $500 is fine but I dont think I have enough knowledge to set a budget yet.

I would like to understand better the pros and cons of using hot-air for my use case. I am still not convinced to its benefits (not sure if I can be convinced without trying it, that is another issue). Sometimes I hear people saying it makes some things much easier (TQFP etc.), sometimes I get the feeling it is too complicated, pre-heater might also be needed, maybe works better but with only stencil etc. I should say I almost never desolder things.

If you need to desolder TQFP/TSSOP/SOIC, using the hot air gun is going to be 100x easier than an iron. But if you never need to desolder them, you don't need hot air. Still, having a $50 858D (or $90 above) on hand just in case something goes wrong is not a bad idea. Not to mention you can use it for heatshrink. Whether that insurance is worth $300 for the Quick brand though, dont know, up to you.

Pre-heater is usually not needed unless you are reworking dense boards, or large BGAs.

[PartialDischarge]

I have the quick tr1100 and can tell you that I absolutely regret buying this pos.
Sometimes it does not turn on, so I have to disconnect and wait like 5 secs for something to discharge inside it.
Then the touch screen and software are mostly unusable, then the fan does never stop making noise something you would not expect in a “digital” product like this.
If left alone for sometime the screen goes blank and doesn’t respond anymore, so turn off/on again.

At least the heating/air works, but I don’t even know why I’m still using it

[metebalci]

I am using a Weller WX1, so I actually had in my mind such brands, and budget around $500 is fine but I dont think I have enough knowledge to set a budget yet.

I would like to understand better the pros and cons of using hot-air for my use case. I am still not convinced to its benefits (not sure if I can be convinced without trying it, that is another issue). Sometimes I hear people saying it makes some things much easier (TQFP etc.), sometimes I get the feeling it is too complicated, pre-heater might also be needed, maybe works better but with only stencil etc. I should say I almost never desolder things.

If you need to desolder TQFP/TSSOP/SOIC, using the hot air gun is going to be 100x easier than an iron. But if you never need to desolder them, you don't need hot air. Still, having a $50 858D (or $90 above) on hand just in case something goes wrong is not a bad idea. Not to mention you can use it for heatshrink. Whether that insurance is worth $300 for the Quick brand though, dont know, up to you.

Pre-heater is usually not needed unless you are reworking dense boards, or large BGAs.

OK thanks, good to know these. Is it possible to solder no lead/QFN etc. with hotair or this can only be done with reflow oven ?

[thm_w]

OK thanks, good to know these. Is it possible to solder no lead/QFN etc. with hotair or this can only be done with reflow oven ?

Yes can be done with hot air, reflow oven, hot plate, IR hot plate, etc.
If its a small board hot air is no problem, for a large board you'd be taking a lot of time moving the heat around the board.

[metebalci]

OK thanks, good to know these. Is it possible to solder no lead/QFN etc. with hotair or this can only be done with reflow oven ?

Yes can be done with hot air, reflow oven, hot plate, IR hot plate, etc.
If its a small board hot air is no problem, for a large board you'd be taking a lot of time moving the heat around the board.

OK that is great, it is alone a reason for me to try one. I will research more.

[vstrulev]

I am considering to try a hotair station for soldering (I havent used any before), for working on prototypes, low component count, small boards, 2-4 layers, not too small SMDs (I usually work with 1206, 0805 passives and 0.65-0.5mm pitch ICs, usually soic and tssop). Is it worth to try and use one ? and to what specs I should pay attention ? I see usually air flow is 100l/min but there are units with lower numbers too. I prefer a well known brand.

Good day. Great option for your needs. Use it for a long time and super happy about it. Aoyue 866

[loki42]

My Quick is great.  I've done a few 1000 parts with it (made a mistake on a big run...) and to me hot air is vital unless you're only doing PTH. I haven't compared the Quick to something like a Metcal or JCB but the Quick has worked well for me.